My name is Dennis Everett Newell; I am called in no certain order, Denny, Den, Big D, D Everett, and Dennis.  It’s funny, but I can usually tell by how someone calls my name, what time in my life we shared.  I guess there are many layers to a life that has now spanned 57 years.  My middle name, Everett, has been passed down in our family since the Civil War.  My great-great-grandfather’s name was Darius Newell, who named his son Silas Everett Newell, my great-grandfather.  He in turn named his son John Everett Newell, my grandfather, who then in turn named my dad, John Everett Newell Jr.  My dad named me Dennis Everett Newell, and my son is Corey Everett Newell.

Poetry is my way of slaying the inner dragons within my mind, thus allowing my inner feelings and passions to escape - my relief valve if you will!  I draw on my own personal inspiration from my assimilations and experience of my life lived.  Experiences that I have taken then shaped and formed into stories and poems. Moments garnered from all people I have interacted with, during these 57 years of living. I am from a family with a long history of wordsmiths.  Within these pages, I try not to let down those that came before me, and to pass a standard to those who will come after.  Taking on this family mantle, I do so with pride and to the best of my meager abilities.

I now live in Western New York, an area that if you don’t like the weather, wait 24 hours and it will change.  The people that live here are tough, able, caring and resilient. I originated from the hills of Pennsylvania - a small town, Falls Creek, in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountain chain.  Within my family heritage you will find lumberjacks, coal miners, and people of every vocation.  You will also find warmth, loyalty and support.  This family is the most loving and lovely family a young boy and now late- middle-aged man could possibly ever hope for.

My passions are, in no particular order, writing, photography, history (Civil War and WW II), music, poetry, sports, computers, and I am a people watcher.  I am you see, an eclectic spirit, hence these eclectic thoughts.  I hope with all of my heart, something you read in this book will touch you.  I hope you can pause and maybe reflect on your own life and world.  My Dad taught me very early on, be a ‘stop and smell the roses’ man!

Thank YOU.
D Everett Newell, the Big D
To reach the Big D, his email is Bygd1@aol.com